This is where it starts to get a bit messy, it might not be a symbol of OUR Sun, the earliest astronomical depictions of stars and sun symbolism in ancient cultures are actually the earliest observations of the planet Venus/Ishtar by civilizations in Mesopotamia...the symbol of Ishtar is an 8 pointed star...

Worth further investigating your point but SUN WORSHIP is one of the earliest forms of religious worship amongst early human society and long pre-dating the Argead Macedonian Dynasty. What is noteworthy, though, is that the (Macedonian) Sun symbol (in its various depictions - 8, 16 and other ray formats) appears to have became the symbol of the Macedonian state.

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if my memory serves me correctly the original symbol used by the Ancient Macedonians was an 8 pointed/ray star...the additional 8 rays were added during Alexander the Greats reign as a symbol of the 'brilliance' of his reign and empire...

That is what we see on the coins and the burial caskets from Kutlesh (aka Vergina) but look at some other archaeological sites pre-dating this era from Mesopotamia and the like, you will see that similar symbols are also in use there.

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Regardless of the absolute facts on this matter there is absolutely no doubt about the widespread use of both 8 and 16 ray sun symbols throughout Macedonia, even the much maligned current state flag has obvious roots in this tradition and a relationship to sun/star symbolism of the Macedonian people through the centuries...

The much maligned (and so IT SHOULD BE for what it does (and does NOT) represent!) "current state flag" is an SDSm-modified stylised sun symbol and nothing more. The PRM/SRM/RM "Coat of Arms" also contains a stylised sun. And if you consider a star to be a sun, then the old SRM Communist Flag also contained a "sun" - the five-pointed star.

Modified Macedonian SUN on Flag of Macedonia (adopted in August 1992).

I think someone like Aleksandrov or Indigen would know much more, but it had strong grassroots support across the diaspora, particularly in Australia. If memory serves correct, I think there was some national agreement of Macedonian organisations across Australia in the 80's to use the sonce. Further, I'm aware of many patriotic activists in Macedonia who had accepted the sonce as a national symbol since the late 70's.

What about the citizens of Macedonia? Did they have a say or a vote on this symbol being their nations flag? And if so what other choices did they have to choose from and how were these choices picked out?

What about the citizens of Macedonia? Did they have a say or a vote on this symbol being their nations flag? And if so what other choices did they have to choose from and how were these choices picked out?

I don't have all of the details around this, but I think the Parliament of the day chose the flag. Although this is not an ideal case, the difference between this particular case and the case of the ventilator is that it was a Macedonian initiative (i.e., no foreign involvement) and the Government and Parliament of the day were freely elected as opposed to having rigged the elections .

__________________If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations...This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution. John Adams

What about the citizens of Macedonia? Did they have a say or a vote on this symbol being their nations flag? And if so what other choices did they have to choose from and how were these choices picked out?

FYI: The members of first democratically elected (despite all the obstacles) Macedonian Parliament, elected in 1990 multi-party elections, were tasked with many national duties and one of those was choosing a new state flag, coat of arms and national hymn. That is how it was chosen (by a majority vote of elected MPs). They had a parliamentary committee tasked for this role and they then asked for design submissions and after much wheeling and dealing, they voted for the modified ("Sonchogled") 16-ray Macedonian Sun design.

The following interview (in Macedonian) with Todor Petrov sheds some light on the issue:

I'm going off memory here, but it was 20 odd years ago. During Yugoslavia days, the Kutlesh symbol was largely unknown in Macedonia, and off course ignored by the authorities since its symbolism didn't quite fit in with the pre-existent communist ones. And before any Greek reading this jizzes themselves in exitement, the symbol was just as ignored and unknown in Greece, outside the archaelogy and history community, which back then was smaller than the few million today.

Prior to the flag being officially chosen, I vaguely remember one of the parties promoting it, whether VMRO or MAAK. I can also vaguely remember it being waved at public rallies.

The important thing to remember is that once it was chosen by parliament, it was readily and gladly adopted by the general population.

I also remember that they wanted to select a new anthem. Several proposals were suggested and heard in parliament (all of them sounded somber and funereal) before it was decided that the current anthem was actually pretty good.

On the coat of arms, I believe VMRO wanted the lion symbol, but this was rejected as it was seen as a party symbol (a decision I agree with), and the decision was postponed.

__________________
Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. - Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)